5 Shear-Centre

Structural Engineering Laboratory Shear Centre
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY

Important:
 It is the students’ responsibility to read and comprehend the information contained in this
document including relevant theories that covered in previous courses.
 The practical work will be carried out in group work format; however, the report must be
submitted by each student (individual report).
 Students’ responsibility to wear suitable personal safety equipment for the laboratory work
and follow the instruction given by technical staffs during the experiment. As a general rule,
anyone without covered footwear will not allow into the laboratory.
 If you are aware that you may not able to attend any of the scheduled laboratory classes, you
must inform the lecturer as soon as possible. Whenever possible, such students will be
allowed to do the testing with other groups.
SHEAR CENTRE
This experiment is designed to assist students to understand the basic concepts of the strength of
materials studied in ENEC12012: Stress Analysis.
THEORY:
Understanding of shear centre and its effect on the behaviour of a member is an important aspect in
most of the structural design problems. All relevant theories are covered in the unit. Please refer the
relevant sections.
Reference: Prescribed Textbook.
Important Definition:
Shear Centre – Shear centre is a point in space at which the shear stress due to bending can be
replaced by statically equivalent internal shear forces and no internal torque.
Last update: June 2017 Page 1 of 6

METHODOLOGY:
Experimental initial set-up
Figure 1: Full experiment set-up in the structures frame
Figure 2: Shear centre experiment
Visually inspect all parts (including electrical leads) for damage or wear. Replace as necessary. Check
all components are secured correctly and fastenings are sufficiently tight. If you are unsure any
fittings or set-up, please talk with technical staff before attempting to make any changes.
Important: Never apply excessive loads to any part of the equipment.

Experiment: Shear Centre
Figure 3: The twisting of a ‘U’ section under load
Beams will always bend when loaded but unless the load is applied at a position known as the Shear
Centre the bending will be accompanied by a twisting action. Figure 3 shows the ‘U’ section loaded
with a force F (on its side). The load sets up shearing stresses in the section caused by the shear force.
For equilibrium, the vertical force must balance the applied load and the two horizontal shearing
forces must be equal and opposite. The two horizontal forces form two moments, which combine to
twist the section. However, if the beam is loaded at its shear centre, S as shown in Figure 4 then the
two moments cancels out. The beam then bends but does not twist.
In this experiment we will purposely load the ‘U’ section eccentrically, that is at positions each side of
the shear centre and measure the twisting action with the indicators each side of the section. We can
then ascertain the position of the shear centre, since it is the point of zero twist (i.e. when the two
indicator readings are identical).
Figure 4: The ‘U’ section under load through its shear centre
Procedure:
Ensure that the equipment is set up (check with a technical staff). Loosen the two rearward facing
thumbscrews on the indicator bosses, turn the indicators outward to contact the outer two datum pegs
and lock off the thumbscrews. This sets the two indicators parallel.
Fit the ‘U’ section into the bottom chuck, referring to Figure 5 for correct positions. Fit the top of the
specimen into the top chuck in the same relative position, ensuring that the specimen is set squarely
and all of the screws are tight.

Figure 5: Orientation and location of the specimen in the bottom chuck
Undo the top chuck hand wheel and rotate the specimen so it is orientated as per Figure 6. When you
feel and hear the chuck ‘click’ into the correct position, tighten the handwheel.
Fit the shear centre beam to the bottom chuck as shown in Figure 6 and secure with the extension
piece.
Ensure that the indicators have roughly equal travel forward and backwards on the shear arm pegs. If
not, loosen the indicator top screw, slide the indicator to the correct position and tighten the screw.
Figure 6: Loading the beam eccentrically and measuring the twisting action
Tap the frame sharply to reduce the effect of friction and zero the indicators. Apply a load of 500 g to
the left-hand notch −25 mm). With the cord over the pulley, ensure that the pulley and cord remain
parallel to the lines on the plate below.
Record the resulting indicator readings in Table 1. Repeat with the same load at the other notch
positions ensuring the cord remains parallel at all times.

Table 1: Experimental results

Eccentricity of load Left-hand indicator Right-hand indicator
(mm) reading (mm) reading (mm)
-25
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
25
Plot a graph of the indicator readings in mm (y-axis) vs. the eccentricity of the load in mm (x-axis).
Where the two lines intersect is the position of the shear centre. It is helpful to visualise the position
of the shear centre by sketching the section to the x-axis scale on your graph.
The theoretical shear centre is given by:
h
B  A t
2 2
IA
Figure 7: Notation for shear centre calculation
Calculate the theoretical position of the shear centre and compare your results. Comment on the
accuracy of your results.
Figure 8 shows a section through an aircraft wing. Comment on the possible effects of the aircraft
flying at supersonic speeds.
Figure 8: An aircraft wing section

REPORT:
The report should be included all this instruction sheet, observations, graphs, calculations and
discussion for any questions/observation as in the instruction sheet. No need to rewrite the sections
given in the instruction sheet.

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Structural Engineering Laboratory Shear Centre

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY

Last update: June 2017 Page 1 of 6

Figure 1: Full experiment set-up in the structures frame

Figure 2: Shear centre experiment

Last update: June 2017 Page 2 of 6

Experiment: Shear Centre

Figure 3: The twisting of a ‘U’ section under load

Last update: June 2017 Page 3 of 6

Figure 5: Orientation and location of the specimen in the bottom chuck

Last update: June 2017 Page 4 of 6

Table 1: Experimental results

Figure 7: Notation for shear centre calculation

Figure 8: An aircraft wing section

Last update: June 2017 Page 5 of 6

Last update: June 2017 Page 6 of 6

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